Achievement hunter: six kings
by pulsehammer
Summary: Fortillia was a land ruled by a great King, a King long dead. Six Kings fight to gain a foothold in this land, the true King Geoff, the King of kindness jack, the King of rose's ray, the King of fools Gavin, the King of war Michael and the mad King Ryan. These six Kings fight for the throne, all of them old friends and all of them determined.
1. Intro

Discloser

These stories might and will contain elements and content taken from an image made by Nixion_Strange on the RT subreddit

Take a world grieving from death

Take friends brought together by royalty

Add a struggle for power

Friends are torn apart by conflict

End with a war for power and control

Fortillia was a land ruled by a great King, a King long dead. The lands achieve prosperity by a magical art long forgotten by commoners. Although out the lands of Fortillia is beauty unscathed by a human's hand, crystal blue rivers that flow silently through forests of old. Trees that touch the heavens and mountains carved for the strongest of stone. Its fields lay home to herds of sheep, pigs and cattle. Crops will grow for generations until losing prosperity, feeding the many villages scattered throughout. Many parts of this world are home to silence and serenity, guarding you from the conflict that plagues the land.

Six Kings fight to gain a foothold in this land, the true King Geoff, the King of kindness jack, the King of rose's ray, the King of fools Gavin, the King of war Michael and the mad King Ryan. These six Kings fight for the throne, all of them old friends and all of them determined.

This war had split up the land of Fortillia into six provinces, Geoff's Stonewell, Jacks Cristillia, Ray's Veneliss, Gavin's Gilinfell, Michaels Axehead and Ryan's Nofrentiss, once the war broke out each King conquered one of these provinces and the people and resources within it.

All the Kings choose wisely except for King Ray who flocked to the Sothern most land, this province was the poorest and had the fewest resources. He mad this decision for two reasons, this province was the province of roses. This province was the only one to have fields full of blood red roses. But there roses were not always blood red, they used to hold a pure sad of white. That was until tundra bandits from beyond Veneliss rallied all of their forces and invaded the province. All of Rays family were vassals for the lord that once ruled that province, the lord flocked all his troops to defend the land. The battle that followed was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of Fortillia, staining the fields of roses that now grew. The battle was won and the bandits pushed back but at a price to high, Ray was the only member to survive that battle. Now he spends his time in his castle watching over his provinces, his people and his roses still stained by his own memory

Many see King Geoff as the true king of Fortillia, as it was his father who united the kingdom many years ago. At his death the struggle for power between the six kings began. Geoff has the largest army and the best claim to the throne; however his armies rarely fight, and doesn't have bad luck with victories. The king himself is unskilled and relies on others for almost everything, even leading his subjects. There are even whispers that he is being manipulated by his own advisors.

King Jack is the kindest of the king, only fighting because he believes he will bring the lands into an even more prosperous and happy land. Any who join him will be met with a smile and open-arms. His subjects are free; his kingdom is the only one without conscription. Due to this King jack has the smallest army of any King. He has had fairly good luck with victories in the past, but lately there has been little success in battle.

King Ray is the calmest of all the kings; he doesn't take offence to much and is obsessed with the ideal of honour. He rarely chooses to fight unless provoked or battle is necessary. He was quite happy to rule his province until others attempted to take it from him. He fights the other kings somewhat unwillingly, but no matter what he will never give up his kingdom. He has had much success in battle in battle, and for a long time it looked like no one could stop him from claiming the land as his own. However he suffers a huge flaw and people know it, King Ray is broke. A war cannot be fought without money, and there is very little of it left. Ray is stuck defending for he has no money to win his campaign, but ray makes no effort to make more money for he is quite contempt with ruling only his kingdom. However it will only be a matter of time till he has to fight for his people and his land.

King Gavin is known as the King of fools, known as the downright stupid of them all. However, behind the stupidity lies genius, what kind of genius cannot be said, but there is no doubt that there is more to him than his bizarre words and concerning actions. King Gavin has had the worst luck of any king, and lost almost every time he tries to attack another king. The few times his plans worked were extraordinary. On top of this for some reason no king has ever been able to successfully attack King Gavin. His defence remains perfect and so his subjects are safe.

Know by his subject by 'Mogar' King Michael is known as the king of war. Nearly every one of his subjects are a part of his army, very few have jobs that don't contribute to the war directly. Other Kings know Mogar as a savage, which isn't always far from the truth. When in battle, he and his subjects are said to fight with brutality that is frightening. Equally terrifying is his anger, get on the wrong side of this king and face his wrath. When not on the battle field Michael acts more like a commoner than a king, working hard alongside his people. Although hugely successful in battle, King Michael doesn't know how to say no to a fight. Often times his victories mean almost nothing in the overall war and give him little strategic advantage. In fact, he seems to care little for ruling the land and is more interested in fighting.

King Ryan, the mad king, by all accounts doesn't seem to have the makings of a victor. He is not the richest, he hasn't the greatest armies, he hasn't the most victories, or the greatest strategies. Yet despite this all his subjects love he and in equal parts fear him. He's unpredictable, killing people on a whim. Loyal subjects or enemy soldiers, if he wants someone dead he will go out and kill them himself, and violently. His battle tactics are demented, and carry his unpredictable nature and can turn in an instant. At the moment most people have him pegged as the winner of this war, but the war can turn it tide in an instant.

So here we have six kings all fighting for different victories. All with different strategies, different advantages and all with a different story. But who will succeed and conquer all else, who will lose their life or give it.

End note

This series will contain six different stories, one following each king. Each will follow a different person and will play out different. Once a story is finished all the events will be erased and the next story will start again from this point.


	2. King Ray's story chapter 1

The sun barley broke the tree line; no one was out in the fields. The land lay silent as if everyone had disappeared, although it must be like this every morning. This was the first time that Rowan had been out at this hour of dawn, but he couldn't stop moving, if he did they would catch him. He was the last of his family and he had to carry on his story, he had to get revenge. As Rowan sat atop his horse his memory kept jumping back to fragments of the past. It was blurry but two things stood out in his mind, blood and flames. He remembered stepping silently over the lifeless bodies of his siblings, suppressing the tears to stay hidden. He remembered taking only a few things, his horse Mayelic, his father's mace and dagger and his family's crest, a small golden statue of a crow grasping a mace and dagger in its talons. He didn't know where he was headed, he just ran. As he came up over the hill the sun was cast out by a tower, a tower connected to a large castle, a castle surrounded by roses.

He studied the land and saw a small group of farmers out in the field. This seemed odd to Rowan as the sun had barley raised over the castle; he thought to himself "no one should be out at this hour." And he was right. On closer inspection he saw four men, three with weapons readied and another slowly backing away. Rowan dis-mounted and broke a quiet jog towards the scene. As he got into ear distance he slowed down to avoid detection, a voice broke the silence "please these rose fields have seen enough, please let us make peace not fight." Another voice hissed back

"You shouldn't even be alive, we wiped out your family years ago." Rowan had already made his decision; before the attackers could do anything Rowan had unsheathed his mace and dagger. He landed a fatal blow to the first ones head with his mace; he dashed forward and landed a quick blow to the second man's temple with his dagger. As the man fell Rowan tried to dislodge his weapon but to no avail, it had become stuck in the man's skull. As much as Rowan heaved and pulled the dagger did not budge, he raised his head to a sight that made his heart stop. A crossbow was now pointed straight at rowans head, the third attacker had fire in his eyes, his finger slowly moved towards the trigger. Rowan closed his eyes and whispered a quiet phrase "I'm coming." His eyes were ripped open by a loud gargle; he raised his head from it bowing position and saw his harbinger fall before him. The fourth man, the one Rowan had forgotten about had pulled a small war clever from its sheath and had slit his attackers throat. Silently this mysterious man dropped to one knee and said in a forgiving voice "you fought well and did not deserve to be sent, but are gone now. So may my words guide your path." His gaze rose to Rowan who reached out one of my hands and pulled him up. We stood there, silent. "I am King Ray of province Veneliss, I am grateful for the rescue. Those were tundra bandits that would love nothing more than my head on a spike" he seemed to be remembering something but spook before Rowan could ask what "May I have the honour of knowing your name and family?"

Rowan spoke unsettled by the royalty standing before him "I am rowan the last of family Mayaquin" rowan held out the crest.

"Last?" "Yes my liege, bandits raided our home in the late hours of the night." his head bowed staring straight at the crest. "I am sorry for your loss, in that fact we suffer similar fates."

"I know sir, my family served under yours when the tundra bandits invaded"

"I knew that fighting style seamed familiar."

"Aye sir it has been passed down, it is what our family is known for. May I ask sire, why did you give that man a speech in death even though he tried to kill you?"

"Because I am a man of honour, and he fought well and died because of a mistake. But no matter we must go inside you must be tired and hungry."

The king generously welcomed rowan into his castle, he put a plat with bread and roast pork in front of him. He spoke in a humble tone "so tell me about yourself and what you came from" his voice bounced off the walls echoing through the nearby halls. "Well I am the only son left from house Mayaquin; I have been trained all my life under my father's wing, Learning how to become a knight so that one day I could come back to this castle to become a vassal for my king. But those bandits came in the dead of night; they slaughtered my entire family and destroyed all that we had. "

"These bandit attacks have become more frequent, I feel they are the same bandits that once invaded these lands. If this is true then we must face our forces away from this war and take the fight to the south."

"Sire if I may ask, I wish to give you my life and become a vassal for the true king."

"Alright, if you can speak the oath of this province then you shall be given the opportunity to fight with me" rowan dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "I hear by give my life to you, my hand and heart is yours to command. May we keep the fields from seeing any more blood. I hear by swear my allegiance to the king of roses" his head rose to see a rose in front of his eyes

"May you take this rose, when allies see it they will aid you, when enemies see it they will fear you. It is enchanted will an ancient spell for it will never die."

"Thank you sire, I shall find myself a nook to sleep in and be ready for service at any point you wish to ask for it."

"Good now do you have any questions?"

"One, it would be an honour to see my kings fighting style."

"then I shall return in a moment" Ray walked out of the room and returned with two cleavers like the one he had in the field, both engraved with patens of roses. On both forearms he had a shield, red of colour and embedded with his families crest, a shield crossed with roses. "Well follow me and I shall show you how I fight."

Both the men now stood in a court yard that lay next to the castles main chamber. The ground was rough dirt that had seen hundreds of years of feet and hooves making it almost perfectly flat. Training dummies were set up at even proportions around the court yard and targets lay in-between them

Ray walked up to one of the dummies and unsheathed his two cleavers; he lifted them to a readied position. Before rowan could say anything Ray had launched into a flurry of attacks that were just a blur in rowans eyes, he swore that he saw rose petals flying as he was attacking. He stopped and turned to face rowan as the dummy fell to pieces, he spook in a calm voice even after unleashing this burst of energy "there are many villages around were you will find good solders that will fight by your side."

"Thank you my liege I will have a force ready within the week."

"Good, when we go on the offensive I want a flag that I know flying in the front row." And with these words he turned and walked inside to prepare for that day ahead of him. Rowan turned to see a stranger leaning on the wall behind him; he began to walk towards rowan. He spoke in an outgoing tone "I see the king has a new vassal, well I server anyone that serves the king."

"Who are you?"

"Well sire I'm the owner of the local tavern, I also work a private smith for the king and his vassals. My name is Alric, if you need some were to stay vassals get a free bed whenever they need."

I'll have to take you up on that offer."


	3. King Ray's story chapter 2

Darkness was all that could be seen, flames cut through the darkness like a scythe, screams echoed through the silence. Everything was coming closer and closer, louder and louder. All of a sudden darkness, silence, it was all gone.

Rowan woke to cold hands on his solders; it was Alric the tavern keeper. "You right there boy you have been asleep since yesterday morning when you came in. you were rolling about saying something about screams."

"Too be honest, I have no idea." Rowan looked around the room, the same room he had passed out in the night before.

"The king sent a messenger, he said that you should go to the villages, they have been training troops for the war and a new lot is ready for combat, to whoever chooses them."

"Guess that's where I'll start"

Rowan went about his morning routine, after quickly eating a breakfast on bread and fruit he took his gear and set off. His horse Mayelic was waiting patiently outside tide up to a fence. After quickly untying the knot on the rope they were both off at a quick trot. Rowan stopped at the gate and one of the guards approached him, his eyebrows dropped. "How many times do I have to tell you civilians, oh wait. I'm sorry my lord" his gaze now sat upon the rose that was attached to Mayelic's saddle "Were will you being go today?"

"I am heading to the nearby village to pick up some new recruits."

"The village is on the path east, be careful the bandits of this area will not hesitate to rob and kill you."

"There the confidence I needed." Rowan said worrying a little.

"You'll be fine." He said chuckling at his own joke. And with that the gate opened at rowan was again off, down the road he was pointed on.

It was a mere mid summer's morning and rowan was cutting a slow gallop down the eastern path out of the main city of Veneliss. Once again rowans life had fallen back into the silence that it once held close, the soft thud of each hoof hitting the ground, the slight breeze disturbing the world around him. The serenity of it all made rowan zone out from anything he was doing, all his life rowan had found serenity in solitude. Rowan stopped his Mayelic at the peak of the hill to observer the land, he saw a large field enclosed by forest and in the centre was a small village.

Rowan round along the path that lead into the village, along the road there was a multitude of men aging from children to adults. An old man walked towards him, hobbling slightly. "Greetings vassal of the king, I am the village elder."

"I am rowan new vassal of King Ray, may I know your name elder."

"I am afraid that word has been lost in the generations."

"What do you mean; do you not remember your own name?"

"I have been alive for much longer than you may think. I am one of the only people in this land that still know the ancient magical arts."

"Then why are you here and how are you still alive?"

"I am still alive because of a forgotten spell that granted me immortality from natural ailments. I am here because this is one of the main places for King Ray to recruit new solders. So I am here to enchant each new born, to make them grow faster and stronger."

"So that they can be sent off to death sooner?" Rowan said with hints of anger in his voice.

"It is the price we pay for survival."

"I shall not argue against that," rowan said realising his error "so may I see my new recruits?" Without any words the elder turned around and started walking away. Rowan took this as a yes and followed suit.

The elder lead Rowan to a centre courtyard, lined up in two even lines were around fifty solders. All of the equipped differently, some of them were clad in iron and some in leather with a range of weapons from long bows to crossbows so spears and all that lie in-between. "All of you have been trained all of your life for this moment, this man atop the horse next to me is your new leader. You will swear you heart and life to him and then you will fight under the rose." All of the solders gave a cheer and with that the elder turned and began to walk away. Rowan had a sudden idea and called out to the man "wait" he turned around "do you know of any bandit hideouts nearby."

"Why?" he asked back.

"I need a second in command and I want to see how they operate."


End file.
